The blood moon awakens
1564 Words
The first thing Lena heard was silence.
Not the ordinary silence that followed a frightening event.
This silence felt different.
Heavy.
Reverent.
She slowly lifted her head.
Every wolf in the Moon Hall was on their knees.
The warriors who had been fighting seconds ago had stopped completely. Even the attackers stood frozen, their faces turned toward Lena with something she had never seen in another person’s eyes.
Fear.
Lena looked down at her hands.
The strange light had disappeared.
Her skin looked normal again.
No flames.
No glowing veins.
Nothing.
“What happened?”
Her voice sounded small against the enormous hall.
Nobody answered.
Then Adrian stood.
He was staring at her as if she had become a stranger.
“Everyone out.”
No one moved.
Adrian’s voice became colder.
“I said get out.”
The command of an Alpha carried power.
One by one, the wolves rose and hurried toward the doors.
The wounded were helped out. The warriors dragged away the unconscious attackers.
Within moments, the enormous hall was almost empty.
Almost.
Lena noticed one of the strangers was still alive.
He was on his knees near the broken window, breathing heavily.
Two warriors held him down.
Adrian walked toward him.
“Who sent you?”
The man laughed.
“You already know.”
“I asked you a question.”
The rogue spat blood onto the floor.
“You should have killed her when you had the chance.”
Lena’s stomach tightened.
Adrian’s expression didn’t change.
“Who sent you?”
The rogue looked directly at Lena.
“The Blood Moon doesn’t belong to this world.”
Lena frowned.
“What does that mean?”
The rogue smiled.
“You’ll learn.”
Adrian stepped forward.
The man’s smile disappeared.
“You rejected her,” the rogue whispered. “That was your mistake.”
Something flashed across Adrian’s face.
The rogue laughed.
“Now everyone knows what she is.”
Adrian’s fist struck him across the face.
“Enough.”
The rogue fell sideways.
Lena stared at Adrian.
She had never seen him lose control before.
“Take him to the lower cells,” Adrian ordered.
The warriors dragged the man away.
Lena waited until they were gone.
Then she turned toward Adrian.
“What am I?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
She walked closer.
“You knew something was going to happen.”
“I suspected.”
“You knew about the mark.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about my mother.”
His silence was answer enough.
Lena’s heart began pounding.
“How?”
Adrian looked away.
“I knew your mother.”
The words hit harder than she expected.
“You knew her?”
“Yes.”
“Before she disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because she asked me not to.”
Lena stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I don’t expect you to believe anything I say.”
At least he was honest.
She folded her arms.
“Then tell me what you know.”
Adrian’s expression became distant.
“Your mother came to Blackwood territory seventeen years ago.”
Lena’s breath caught.
“Seventeen years?”
“She was being hunted.”
“By whom?”
“I never found out.”
“You’re lying.”
His eyes snapped toward hers.
“I’ve never had a reason to lie about this.”
“You’ve had every reason.”
She stepped closer.
“You rejected me tonight without explaining why. You knew about my mark. You knew my mother. Now you’re telling me she was being hunted.”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“You want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Then you need to understand something first.”
“What?”
“Your mother wasn’t an ordinary wolf.”
Lena’s pulse quickened.
“I know.”
“No.”
Adrian shook his head.
“You don’t.”
He reached toward her shoulder.
Lena instinctively stepped back.
Adrian stopped.
“The mark appeared there?”
She hesitated.
Then slowly pulled the collar of her dress aside.
The crescent-shaped mark was still visible.
But something had changed.
There were thin silver lines spreading outward from it.
Adrian’s face went pale.
“That’s impossible.”
“What?”
He didn’t answer.
Lena grabbed his wrist.
“Tell me.”
His gaze remained fixed on the mark.
“It’s awakening.”
“What is?”
“Your bloodline.”
Lena released him.
“My bloodline?”
Adrian nodded.
“There are stories about a family that existed long before the current packs were formed. They weren’t ruled by Alphas.”
“Then who ruled them?”
“No one.”
He looked at her.
“They ruled themselves.”
Lena frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“They were different from us.”
“How?”
Adrian hesitated.
“They could influence other wolves without using Alpha commands. They could heal wounds that should have been fatal. And according to the oldest records…”
He stopped.
“According to what?”
“They could awaken the wolf inside another.”
Lena’s mouth went dry.
“And my mother?”
“Was one of them.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“My mother was Blood Moon?”
Adrian shook his head.
“No.”
His eyes met hers.
“She was protecting one.”
Lena’s heart stopped.
“Me?”
He didn’t answer.
She took a step backward.
“No.”
Adrian remained silent.
“No, that’s not possible.”
She remembered her childhood.
Her mother’s hands.
Her voice.
The way she had always warned Lena never to show anyone the mark on her shoulder.
The way she had looked terrified whenever someone mentioned the old stories.
Lena had always believed her mother had simply been afraid of losing her.
But perhaps there had been another reason.
“Why did she leave me?”
Adrian’s expression softened.
“She didn’t.”
Lena froze.
“What?”
“Your mother didn’t abandon you.”
Her throat tightened.
“Then where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“You knew her. You promised to protect her.”
“I tried.”
“You failed.”
The words came out broken.
Adrian didn’t defend himself.
That somehow hurt more.
Lena turned away.
Tears burned her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
All her life, she had carried one question.
Why had her mother left?
Now she had another.
What had happened to her?
A soft knock came from the doorway.
Adrian turned.
An elderly woman stood there.
“Alpha.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“What is it, Mara?”
The woman looked at Lena.
Her face went completely still.
Then she whispered:
“She’s awake.”
Lena looked between them.
“You know me?”
Mara’s eyes filled with tears.
“I knew the moment I saw your eyes.”
Lena’s heart raced.
“What do you mean?”
The old woman walked closer.
“You have your mother’s eyes.”
Lena swallowed.
“Tell me about her.”
Mara glanced at Adrian.
He gave a slight nod.
Mara sighed.
“Your mother was named Elara Vale.”
Lena’s breath caught.
She had barely heard her mother’s name spoken in years.
“She came here seventeen years ago with a newborn child.”
Lena stared at her.
“Me.”
“Yes.”
“Who was chasing her?”
Mara’s expression darkened.
“The Blackthorn Order.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“They were supposed to be extinct.”
“They aren’t.”
Lena looked at him.
“What is the Blackthorn Order?”
Mara lowered her voice.
“They believe Blood Moon blood belongs to them.”
“And what do they want?”
The old woman looked directly into Lena’s eyes.
“They want you to awaken completely.”
A chill traveled down Lena’s spine.
“Why?”
Mara’s voice trembled.
“Because when the last Blood Moon fully awakens, every Alpha in the northern territories will be forced to choose.”
“Choose what?”
Mara looked at Adrian.
“Whether to kneel…”
She paused.
“…or fight.”
Lena stared at Adrian.
The Alpha looked troubled for the first time since she had met him.
Then the mark on Lena’s shoulder burned.
She cried out and dropped to her knees.
Adrian rushed toward her.
But before he could touch her, a voice echoed inside her head.
Not Adrian.
Not Mara.
Her mother’s.
Lena.
Her eyes widened.
“Mother?”
The voice came again.
Run.
Lena gasped.
Then another sentence followed.
One that made the blood drain from her face.
Never trust Adrian Blackwood.
The mark went dark.
Lena slowly looked up.
Adrian was standing directly in front of her.
His expression was unreadable.
But there was something behind his eyes.
Something that looked dangerously close to guilt.
“Lena,” he said quietly.
She stared at him.
“Did my mother ever tell you why she was afraid of you?”
Adrian didn’t answer.
And Lena suddenly realized something terrifying.
Maybe the person hunting her wasn’t the only person who had been keeping secrets.
Maybe the Alpha who rejected her knew exactly why her mother had disappeared.
And maybe he had been waiting seventeen years for Lena to awaken.
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